The following system is advantageously applied to the simulation of the operating environment of a manipulator device of a sheet metal bending installation, for example of the type described in Italian Patent Application No. 67224-A/88 filed 15 Mar., 1988 and the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In this Patent application there is described a sheet metal bending installation which includes a pair of motor driven manipulator heads which are translatable within a manipulation space and are rotatable about a common axis which is parallel to a linear bending zone defined by two dies of a press. The manipulator heads are adapted to grip the opposite edges of a metal sheet and to position this metal sheet between the dies of the press in such a way as to allow the predetermined bending of the metal sheet. This manipulator device further has a pivoted arm which is provided with a plurality of auxiliary pincers which can grip an edge of the metal sheet to invert it. The manipulator device and the press are controlled by an electronic control unit which imparts sequential instructions thereto on the basis of memorized instructions defining successive bending cycles.
The instructions for the various stages of the bending cycle can be obtained according to the so called "self-learning" procedure on the basis of which an operator physically moves the machine through the sequence of movements which are required to perform the bending cycle and, when each movement has been effected, inserts into the command unit the parameters relating to this movement, or else according to the system described in Italian Patent Application filed 18 Dec. 1989 and entitled "A System for the Automatic Creation of Control Signals for the Operating Cycles of a Robot Manipulator Device of a Sheet Metal Bending Installation" the contents of which are incorporated here by reference. This system is adapted automatically to create control signals for the operating cycles of a robot manipulator device of a sheet metal bending installation, and comprises a portable keyboard of small dimensions provided with keys to be selected by an operator and called "function keys" each of which is operable to define a complete sequence of control signals for a specific phase of the cycle. The keyboard further includes other keys which are operable to move individual parts of the bending installation.
To derive a sequence of control signals for a complete bending cycle according to the system described in the above patent application entitled "A System for the Automatic Creation of Control Signals for the Operating Cycles of a Robot Manipulator Device of a Sheet Metal Bending Installation", an operator must spend many hours in proximity to the bending installation in that the teaching cycle must in practice be performed on the installation, and the controls to move the various parts of the bending installation, conveniently by means of the small keyboard, are located near the installation to allow the necessary visibility for the operator.